And the scheme could be rolled out to Caversham and other shopping areas in the borough if the town centre trial is a success.

The new on-street charges are being pursued as an alternative to plans by the previous administration to increase residents’ parking fees.

Councillor Richard Willis, Reading’s lead councillor for strategic planning and transport, said: “We hope to roll it out in the town centre in the autumn.

“It’s very much a trial period to see how the technology works and, if it’s successful, we will look to roll it out into other areas of Reading.”

The pay and display spaces will replace free short-term parking zones around the town centre.

The proposed charge will be 50p per 20 minutes with a maximum stay of one hour.

Cllr Willis said: “What I was very keen to have was a low price unit of parking so people don’t have to buy a whole hour if they just want to nip to the shops. If people want longer-term parking, there are the main car parks.”

But Murli Bhatti, owner of La Baguette, in Kings Road and Blagrave Street, and Ayurveda Retreat in Friar Street, claimed the move “is a big mistake”.

He said: “Increasing any charges in the town centre will kill any remaining trade. We own three businesses in the town centre and we have seen a huge downturn in business.”

Guy Douglas, BID manager at Reading CIC, can see both sides of the argument.

He said: “Some will say that charging for on-street short stay parking will act as a deterrent to trade, and that surrounding towns and out-of-town shopping parks that do not charge will immediately be able to offer ‘free parking’ as a unique selling point.

“Others will say that pay-and-display for on-street, short stay parking in our busy central business district will make the town centre more accessible.”

Claire Prosser, policy executive of Reading Chamber of Commerce, said there were opposing views but she felt most businesses would not support the charges.

She added: “However, this is keeping in line with other South East shopping hubs and towns who have raised charges. There is also merit in the view that a higher churn of shoppers is better.”

Cllr Willis said he has asked transport officers to look at the most hi-tech options for ticket machines, including solar-powered models.

The council has to advertise changes to traffic regulation orders (TROs) in order to implement the new charges and any objections have to be reported back to the council’s traffic management advisory panel.

The previous Labour administration had suggested increasing the cost of a second residents’ parking permit from £55 to £100. However, the new Tory/Lib Dem coalition ditched the hike and proposed a more modest £5 increase.

The introduction of on-street pay and display parking has been proposed to generate the lost income.